Oh, she was rubbing her sword hilt now. Wonderful. Now, to goad her into attacking, or to keep playing and see how long they could go at it?
Alas, it was not to be, as something that Ardyn didn't see caught her eye, and sent her scurrying off to her bike, pulling out a phone and calling an unnamed boss, mentioning a drop zone, and so forth. Ardyn frowned. Well, there went both his fun and all of the mystery of why she might be here, both at once. How disappointing. She mounted her bike, clearly ready to leave. Well, that woulden't do at all......
He pranced over, and slammed his hand on her handlebars firmly.
"Leaving so soon?"
He smirked now, looking ready to laugh.
"To answer your question, frankly, I don't care what it is you're doing, who you're working for, why, really, honestly, I don't. But you're not going to tease me like that, and then leave me to go fight something big and dangerious while I have to deal with the innanties of employee management."
He leans forward, presenting her with a wonderful chance to just behead him, if she were so inclined.
"So, I'll give you a choice. You can bring me with you on this little trip, don't worry, I have, ahem, methods to protect my own identity and ensure you are not associated with me in any way by anyone who might see us, or....."
A shadow passes over his face, and now it looks something less.....human, between the yellowed, blackened eyes and the black liquid leaking out of his eyes and mouth.
"....if that's not to your liking, then I'll give you another monster to fight."
The shadows pass over his face again, and it returns to normal.
"It's all the same to me, so do take your pick. Regardless of the option you take, do rest assured, I won't be telling anyone else about this little encounter."
Anti-Gnosis Weapon
Le Télépathé
The bell on the door chimes as I step into the cafe, and I stalk over to the register. The cashier, a blue-eyed, blonde philosophy major looking to put a dent in her student loans, gives me a winsome, toothy smile and tells me my order will be ready in about ten minutes. You don't need to tell the staff what you want when you go to Le Télépathé; they pluck your order right from the gray matter between your ears and make it for you. But you don't need to be able to read minds to know the regular fare of one of your most frequent customers. I'd swear the owners of this place know all my secrets from the looks they sometimes give me, but they haven't blabbed about it to anyone that I know of, so I tolerate them.
That'll be twelve and some change, she says. I pay up with a battered rectangle of plastic, and wait a minute or so for her to return with my coffee. This particular shop does something special to their beans that gives them a particular taste that you can't find elsewhere, so I stock up every month or so for brewing at home. The young lady returns with my java and gives me that smile again. I don't smile back, just grunt out a thanks, take my cup, and pace over to take a seat at my usual table by the front windows. She wouldn't be smiling if she knew I was a beastman. As nature intended, I take my coffee black, like the human soul. I allow myself a long, measured sip of dark, revitalizing liquid and glance out onto the street.
The sky is lightly cloudy, and from my walk outside I know the forecast of 50 to 60 is accurate. No rain expected. This being downtown, the streets are still fairly active even at this hour, groups of people walking the sidewalks and driving down the road, braving the sunless darkness to go drink, or go clubbing, or whatever else modern day youth are wont to do on a Monday night. Or perhaps they're here seeking the darkness instead. I know better than most the seedy underbelly of this city, its drug addicts and dealers, homeless and runaways and illegal immigrants, traffickers, gangs, villains and thugs of countless stripes. And then there are the glory-hounds. Oh, the superheroes, the great and noble saviors of Emerald City! How can the media sing their praises often enough? Sign up with the government, get a complimentary apartment and a fat paycheck, and you too can become famous while doing nothing but picking around the edges of the town's plague of crime! The mere thought of it sickens me.
The woman at the table next to mine gets her food, and is deliriously happy about it. To distract myself from my thoughts, I pull out my phone and begin to flick through the local news feed while I wait for my own order. Multiple Villains Spotted at Japanese Historical and Cultural Society, Heroes on the Scene. Dr. Frankenstein Robs Honeybee Chemical Plant. Hot Tempers Flare Too Hot at Local 7/11. Prim Pooches Prance in Pretty Parade of Pups. Schicksal in Emerald City. I frown more deeply than usual at the last headline, and click through to read more thoroughly.
According to a recent official statement by the European hero association, an elite operative has been chosen to assist Emerald City's local police and superhero forces, as part of a new initiative to strengthen relations with various federal governments in the continent, in order to increase cooperation between heroes on a global scale.
The hero in question, Kallen Kaslana, was reported to have landed in the US in an international flight earlier today, but her arrival to Emerald City has yet to be confirmed.
The story includes photos of the "heroine" in question. Wait a minute. I glance up and across at the woman with the abnormally large serving of fries. Blue eyes. Cross earrings. Long white hair in a braid. A face that would be called pretty, but not inhumanly so, and more so if it wasn't currently being stuffed with fries. A pair of guns that look uniquely forged. A longcoat with yet more excessive crosses. There's no mistaking her.
I slide out of my seat and step over to her table, eyes boring down into her face and judging her with subtle distaste. "Sie sind weit weg von zu Heim, Agentin Kaslana des Schicksal," my deep baritone greets her in Greman, "Sie konnten nicht widerstehen, Ihre Tentakel auch um diese Stadt zu wickeln, oder?"
Edited by darksidevoid on May 22nd 2020 at 3:50:32 AM
GM of AGOG S4: Frontiers RP; Sub-GM of TABA, SOTR, & UUA RPs
Annoyed Mode: ON
Kallen Kaslana was having the best time. The food was plentiful, and more importantly, it was good. For the first time in a good while, she actually felt at ease, devouring junk food with a voracity that was frankly alarming in someone with such a slender frame.
Understandably, when she heard a stranger's voice addressing her by name in German, it managed to startle her a fair amount.
For a moment her eyes locked onto the stranger's, her whole body tensed up and she mentally prepared herself for a fight. She slowly swallowed the food she'd hoarded into her mouth until then, and listened to the man as he continued his spiel, and then...
...she sighed in relief, and slumped on her chair like a deflated balloon.
"Gott sei Dank..." the woman muttered, her hands already reaching out for the food again. "You scared me for a while there. And I'd finally started to relax..."
She stabbed a couple of meatballs with her fork and motioned towards the seat right in front of her like Shirou was an old friend instead of a complete stranger she'd literally just met.
"So, may as well take a seat, right? You came to talk, so I'm gonna hear you out."
Edited by Katarsus on May 23rd 2020 at 2:06:45 PM
Anti-Gnosis Weapon
Le Télépathé
Uh... am I missing something here, or is this woman an idiot? Maybe it's both. She looked about ready for a brawl but then backed down as soon as I finished talking. I shake my head and refocus on the important things.
"I came here to get dinner, not because I wanted to have my appetite ruined by the stench of a Schicksal lapdog! You want to hear me out?" I growl at her, baring my teeth and very pointedly not taking a seat, "Then run on back across the Atlantic to your masters and tell them to keep their damn dirty paws off of this city! We don't need or want their 'help'!"
GM of AGOG S4: Frontiers RP; Sub-GM of TABA, SOTR, & UUA RPs
"Haha... Right..." Giving a slightly disbelieving look as well as her own highly artificial bit of daily laughter right there, Ren would then grumble under her breath... before promptly freezing when she saw the dots of red lights lit up much like how such would do in a cartoon.
After the required amount of shaking, Ren would then shakily reach toward the military grade flashlight built into her headset before flicking it on, hoping that the strong cone would let whatever was lurking come into the visible spectrum. Hopefully without pissing off whatever they were. And if it did, well... she was ready to do one of those unnecessary video game dodge rolls like the epic gamer she was.
Pausing in his run to look at the pretentious weirdo standing between his way to providing for Elizabeth's well-being, the supposed Dragon's only response to the desire for a duel was a slight narrowing of the eyes and a single nod. If one more person here wished to throw away their lives then so be it.
Eyes as dead as a fish and sleep deprived enough to sport visible bags stared into Macbeth's, as placid as a still deep and dark lake on a moonless night. Though no words were truly exchanged, a shifting of the stance that Zero gave off was answer enough to the acceptance of the duel- one where blade was sheathed in its entirely and body lowered to a taut position like someone halfway into a runner's crouch. Hand on hilt and taking in a deep breath, the much younger man's countenance grew immeasurably sharper.
As he got ready to face the bounty hunter in the only way he knew how- pure and sudden violence with not an iota of hesitation, anticipation burbled forth unbidden deep within his heart. Muscles clenched and tensed as the utmost peak of mental concentration was achieved in spite of the hallucinatory drugs swimming around in his system, highlighting the target before him while scanning for any possible weaknesses to exploit... and for his sword to trace a trajectory towards once any meaningful signal to begin was raised.
Edited by Makaioh on May 26th 2020 at 11:43:57 AM
Annoyed Mode: ON
Even though Kallen was no stranger to being on the receiving end of particularly harsh words from what some people would refer to as "dem haterz", she had to admit that being called "Shicksal's lapdog" actually stung. The worst part is that, had this taken place two weeks earlier, she would likely have jumped foward to defend Schicksal with a passion, just like a lapdog. On the plus side, a dislike of Schicksal was something that both of them seemed to have in common... to an extent.
Well, dislike or not, it was her duty to turn the other cheek.
"I understand how you feel, really... but I can't go back," the young hero replied, lowering the fork back on her plate. "Maybe one day, but not any time soon. I'm sorry."
She didn't expect her answer to be well received, but she nonetheless harbored the hope it wouldn't escalate things further.
Anti-Gnosis Weapon
Le Télépathé
She doesn't take the bait, more's the pity. She "understands how I feel". She's "sorry". The pitless human mind is full of double entendres, falsehoods, and general insincerity, so allow me the liberty of translating. Coupled with not rising to the bait like a good hound of Schicksal should, those supposed sentiments are human for: "I'm hiding something."
"And why. Is. That. Kallen Kaslana?" I intone, leaning in and planting my hands on her tablespace.
"Is it because you can't stand the thought of not following your superior's orders like a gutes kleines Soldatenmädchen? Or, could it be..." I slowly voice my intuition with a slight smile, though on me it probably just looks tired, "Has the little lapdog bitten the hand that feeds her? That claptrap about forging closer ties with governments and other 'heroes' is obviously just a cover to save face. You mouthed off to the wrong lord or lady, and they've exiled you across the pond for it, haven't they, pup? You poor thing."
I'll be honest, I don't really sound terribly sincere with that last bit, either. Maybe the humans are rubbing off on me. What a disgusting thought.
GM of AGOG S4: Frontiers RP; Sub-GM of TABA, SOTR, & UUA RPs
Fear me
Toph, Precinct
Got that right. But...
It sounded... like a kid, sort of. Or moody teenager. Do we have any from juvie?
Peering into the darkness as the laughter echoed from it, and shiny red orbs stared back, Akali felt her hackles starting to rise. Whatever they were had to be small, considering a dozen of them could fit into the pipe, but that didn't mean much. And they fact they had laughed? Whatever was in there, it wasn't an animal.
Slowly, she reached out to put an arm across Ren's chest and began to steadily move them back away from the pipe; Making sure to not make any sudden movements. "Hello?"
2 Spooky 4 U
Ganondorf, Japanese Historical and Cultural Society: INCOGNITO
If the psychic type human needed to switch stances then it would seem that now was the time as one of Ganondorf's casting hands was now taking a leave from the power duel to catch the potential pragmatic backstab with his left hand, fracturing his assualt between the fields of martial and magical. "Please Miss Tawana, the coward's plan of running me through the back? I knew that the spirit of heroism has fallen into rot during the eons but I wasn't expecting it to be this pathetic in person," he stated, giving a small clue to his big bad story alongside it.
And the whole affair was again thrusted back into the void of the night with the remaining casting hand ceaseing it's dark arts and then came around to join lefty in firmly grasping the spear shaft. He would then attempt to use his leverage and strength to roughly pressure Tawana into neutral distance before quickly lauching a electric volleyball of death at his ranged rival. Still, the two heroines had a clear advantage by engaging the villian in two different duels; any attempt to follow up on the martial duel granted too much ground to Espeon and vice versa, limiting his destructive output greatly because of the ineffective multitasking.
Edited by LightToAll on May 31st 2020 at 11:59:05 AM
A dogged fellow, aren't we?
Lappland - Parking garage
In her excitement, Lappland had almost forgotten about her erstwhile plaything, and hadn't expected him to have the guts to get between her and her fun. There was a flash of irritation in her eyes, and a glint of silver light between her fingers - until he asked to come with her, and a shadow passed over his face.
An instinctive thrill shot down Lappland's spine. A feeling she knew intimately, that she'd spent almost her whole life chasing. Danger.
Her irritated expression was washed away as she threw her head back in a peal of delighted laughter.
"Eh-ahhaha~! Ooh, I was so wrong about you!" Grinning from ear to ear, she leaned back and patted the bike's pillion seat behind her. "C'mon then! Before the heroes spoil our fun, haha~!"
Once her passenger was in place, she gunned the engine and peeled out, leaving the parking garage echoing with squealing tires and laughter.
Edited by LittleMako on Jul 8th 2020 at 6:59:21 AM
Vampire Hunter
Espeon, Japanese Historical and Cultural Society
As she moved herself into a better position to struggle with this foe, she felt him weaken his attack. Espeon held on until he completely stopped his attack, likely allowing himself to be hit by her Psybeam. As she attempted to fire another Psybeam, her opponent threw his Electric Volleyball of Death at her, hitting her since it was not a beam she could struggle with. Sabrina gritted her teeth as she tried to not yell out as she was magically electrocuted. But it did not seem like Espeon was down for the count yet.
She kept an eye on her opponent in the lull between their attacks, waiting for him to make a move.
Wizard Needs Food Badly
I have a plan.
Ironhouse District — Macbeth
Macbeth kept his sword pointed towards 'The Dragon'. But then he waited. And he lowered his blade. Then finally, he let his sword drop the ground with a loud."I lied," he said, completely casually. "The price on your head was worth setting up a trap. If you had made the first move, it would have made my job very easy. But you're a lot more clever than they say, so I guess this is goodbye."
Macbeth suddenly threw down a small white marble to his feet, which exploded into a great plume of thick gray smoke that enveloped him. Macbeth's silhouette vanished back into the night, and as he ran, his footsteps were hardly audible.
The cheap sedan with no driver was still idle and running, and the ancient claymore was left abandoned on the ground.
"@[=g3,8d]&fbb=-q]/hk%fg"
Almost faltering out of his do-or-die stance from the sheer exasperation that occurred as well as disbelief that had occurred after the immortal Scotsman turned tail and ran, Zero held onto his posture for a few more seconds while his keen senses scanned around the area to make sure that his opponent had actually absconded and not hid somewhere to try to snipe him.
Sheathing his blade and picking up the briefcase after making sure all was right, he circled around the position that the Scottish ex-king had taken up to make sure to circumvent whatever trap was there before absconding into the night with drug money in hand. At the very least he got what he came here for and staying further would only allow pursuers to figure out his identity.
Tawna (JHCS - Vs Ganondorf)
("Damn it!") Tawna mentally cursed as Ganondorf stopped her sneak attack, but held on even as Ganondorf tried to force her back.
"You don't make the rules!" The bandicoot retorted, before trying to push forward again, giving Espeon a chance of retaliation.
Proud member of the AGOG community.
Vampire Hunter
Espeon, Vs. Ganondorf, Japanese Historical and Cultural Society
Instead, it was Tawna who made the first move. Hoping her opponent was distracted by Tawna, Espeon fired off another Psybeam at him. However, she was starting to wish some of the others were helping her to fight this opponent.
Wizard Needs Food Badly
2 Spooky 4 U
Ganondorf, Japanese Historical and Cultural Society: INCOGNITO
"Then I will destroy the rules of this weak world and use the crumbling remains as the foundation of my kingdom!" snapped back Ganondorf as he reached his arm out and willed the return of his Trident back to his person.
POW!
BANG!
But the potent purple psychic punch of one Espeon, ESPer Extreme, roughly hit the offending limb and spoiled Ganon's ripoff Sith move, causing the Trident to be disposed of somewhere with a sharp series of succulent clanks and bangs. "AH!" the tyrant roared as he switched gears, disregarding his story of honor by attempting to take out and aim his remaining firearm at the nitro fueled pest but tonight during the grand coronation of Ganondorf's rein only one new law was to be made: THE LAW OF VICTORY! GO FOR IT HEROES!
Edited by LightToAll on Jun 21st 2020 at 2:49:48 PM
Annoyed Mode: ON
For a random stranger from another continent, the angry man in the coat really had hit the nail in the head there. Well, sort of. Things were way more complicated than that, but generally it wasn't too inaccurate.
"Guess I should've seen it coming, huh?" Kallen let out a sigh and picked up another pair of fries to shove into her mouth. "Still, I'm not one to hold my tongue if I feel like something has to be said, and I had a lot to say at the time. I don't regret it one bit, and if I have to choose between retracting myself and not going back, then I'll be just fine on my own until they sort their issues out."
That being said, though, there were a few things that Kallen was starting to find rather peculiar about her fellow interlocutor. Some details about his speech patterns in particular intrigued her a fair bit. One of them was his choice of terms when talking about certain things, like "pup" and "paws". Perhaps it had to do with his upbringing, or he had picked it up from a book, or from a particularly tough life experience. A bit odd, but not really worth getting worried about.
The German, however, was.
He could speak English just fine. So could she. There wasn't any need for him to talk in German. The fact that he still did could mean one of two things: either he was more comfortable talking in that language, which could mean that he was a foreigner himself, or he was doing it on purpose to try to impress her, which was a... rather odd thing from someone who initially appeared so aggressive. Neither option brought Kallen much comfort, but she was curious enough to try to figure out which one was closer to the truth.
Hopefully it would be the first one. Dealing with a foreigner felt like a much better prospect than dealing with a bipolar admirer, particualarly in an unfamiliar continent.
"Say, are you sure you don't want to take a seat? I really wouldn't mind, y'know?"
Anti-Gnosis Weapon
Le Telepathé — "My disappointment is immeasurable, and my night is ruined."
The more I talk, the more obvious it will become that I am well-traveled. My accent in English is mostly American after ten long years in this country, but laced with subtle tells that say I originally came from somewhere more Germanic and learned a British accent before my American one. Well, it's too much of a hassle to "fix" just for this encounter, so let Kaslana's powers of observation glean what they will. Not that I start my response by talking, anyway.
I stare at her and her offer of dinner companionship sullenly for a long moment, then realize I am vanquished and my curiosity combined with paranoia has hitched me to this conversational train until it reaches its terminal. At this epiphany I close my eyes and sigh deeply, trudge back over to grab my caffeine, then return, set the cup on her table, and drop heavily into the seat opposite her, every movement agonized. I reach into my coat pocket and pull out a business card, sliding it over to her. It reads:
Shirou Oogami, Private Investigator
The graphics are nothing special. A basic outline of a wolf's head in the background. My contact information on the back. All you need to know, really, except my rates. You have to ask for those.
"So?" I prod expectantly, "Who specifically did you piss off, and what did you say? Why did you decide to come to my city in particular? And did you at least besmirch that Apocalypse bastard's name while you did it?"
Edited by darksidevoid on Jul 10th 2020 at 2:37:04 AM
GM of AGOG S4: Frontiers RP; Sub-GM of TABA, SOTR, & UUA RPs
Tawna (JHCS - Vs. Ganondorf)
This distraction proved to be just the opening Tawna needed; while Ganondorf was reaching for his firearm, she was in perfect position to get in close, grabbing his wrist to stop or delay the firearm usage, and clamping down on it hard, clearly going for heavy force here. With her grappling him like this, it would ideally leave him open for anyone else to take a shot, be it from Espeon or any other available hero.
Proud member of the AGOG community.
Ryo Saeba - Seattle Underground
Ryo sigh at the lame denial. "Yeah, right... Well, all's well that ends we-" Upon seeing the red dots appearing in the dark, the sweeper immediately readied himself. He pointed his magnum towards the darkness, ready to shoot whatever would come out of it.
Junko Enoshima - Rooftop near Japanese Historical and Cultural Society
Junko was still enjoying her popcorn while looking at the fight occurring through her binoculars. While the so-called superheroes were surely doing their very best, the fashionista was more interested in the man with the dark powers. He could be useful for her future power move. Of course, Mukuro was also watching the conflict, but that smelly useless bodyguard was probably just focusing on how the fighters moved.
Edited by Alecoene on Sep 4th 2020 at 4:34:04 PM
Black Cat - JHCS
Black Cat shot a look between Stitch and the scaled woman, letting out a snort as she shook her head ruefully.
"Bad. Probably." She looked around at the remaining mercenaries, her ears pinning back against her head as she added under her breath, "I just can't prove it yet."
2B's arrival was timely, but the black-clad woman somehow managed to just complicate the standoff even further. She didn't know her well enough to tell if she was bluffing, but she didn't like the tone in her ally's voice.
"2B, don't hurt her. We need her alive if we're going to get to the bottom of this." Black Cat jerked her head to encompass the chaotic scene around them. She didn't think that appealing to the unwritten superhero rules* regarding killing villains would do much to dissuade 2B, so she just stuck to cold pragmatism and ignored the scaled woman's baiting.
"Just... just keep her from moving. And you - you keep him from moving." She pointed between the red-scaled woman and their fuzzy prisoner as she released her borrowed weapon, leaving it embedded in the floorboards, reaching into her utility belt and pulling out a handful of super-cuffs* .
First, she knelt and started to zip a pair around Stitch's ankles, working with practiced speed in the dark.
—
Lappland - Cascadia parking garage
The silver-haired mercenary broke into a pleased smirk at Ardyn's theatrics, even breaking into a lighthearted chuckle. This guy was kinda fun after all!
"Ah, how perceptive~! Are you sure you're not a detective, Mr Izunia? Hmm-hm-hm, I wonder... if I had broken the law to get in here..."
She cocked her head slightly, meeting Ardyn's gaze with a relaxed smirk, one hand caressing the pommel of a sword with slow fingers.
"What would you do to stop me?"
Suddenly her ears sprung straight up, and she whirled around to look as something huge and dark sailed overhead. She darted over to the side of the garage, leaning over the balustrade to see the creature diving towards the distant JHCS building.
"Woah! Look at that thing!" Lappland's eyes had lit up, her tail wagging behind her as she pulled her phone out and thumbed the contact for her employer. "Boss! There's a monster heading towards the drop zone!"
She was already swinging a leg over her motorbike, the engine's smooth starting purr signalling the beastgirl's intention to deploy if her eager glee hadn't given her boss a clue.
Edited by LittleMako on May 22nd 2020 at 6:56:59 AM